I usually use this space to showcase action figures and big size statues and leave small collectibles out of this; like for example those horrible and souless FunkoPop or capsule Gashapon or blind box figurerines. Recently i been building a small collection of Gashapon but i dont think they have a place in here and once i think about it i am not sure why i think like that because they are toys as well and a few years ago i made an entry about the Monster in my Pocket in this place after all soo i will showcase blind box figures this time.
The chinese brand Pop Mart was totally unknown for me until a few months ago when theyr Labubu started to be extremelly popular, almost as much as the FunkoPop, but this let me find out that a few years ago they released theyr own version of the Universal Monsters as small figures in blind boxes. When i saw pictures i tough they were made with AI because they didnt looked real, they looked extremelly perfect and colorfull and the series consist on the Monsters sitting on a teather chair, watching a movie in a "Super Deformed" or chibi design.
It took me quiet some effort to be able to find a sealed complete box with 9 blind boxes that contain the whole 9 figures, but it was deffinetly worth it!! Despite them being tiny (the size of an Amiibo) and sculptures with no articulation at all, this little guys give the ilusion to be bigger than they are and they sculpt is extremelly detailed, funny and amusing to look at. Each one of them looks very dynamic and full of life and personality.
Dracula is sitting with his legs crossed and his giant head resting on his hand and a glass of blood on the other and an expression of boredom. The design looks too much like an anime from the 70s and have enough details to make them stand out, like the pointy ears, the eye bags, the ring on his hand...and the colorwork is really good since his shoes are jet black while his suit is a little more mate black and it contrast nicelly with his vibrant red cape and pale skin tone. The paint is soo good his eyes are bloodshot for lack of sleep!! Both the blood and the glass are made with tranlsucent plastic and they can be removed from his hand but they fit soo perfectly between his fingers.
Next one is the Frankenstein Monster that have the the most cartoony design of the bunch with the gigantic head and the square face features and big ears. Even the fingers on his hands are square and his big bits and smilm legs contrast too good with the size of the head. He is also very "sleepy" looking and have a pompking full of pop corn. Both the pumpkin and the green jachet have a pretty stronf coloring works in emrald green and orange witha wash of black that makes them looks like marbel. The scar on his forehead, the yellow eyes with dark green eye bags, the purple nose, the color aplication is really magnificent.
The pop corn cant be removed, but as a little extra the top of his head can be removed to reveal a very pink, very colorfull and wet and fresh brain!! Its really amazing to see such small figures having "actin features" and accesorys like this.
Next one is the Bride of Frankenstein, sitting in a extremelly femenine way with a flirtatious smile and stealing the pop corn of the Frankenstein Monster. The pop corn is pretty much the only piece with color since she is almost entirelly in black and white. Her dress flows around her body and curls around her legs pretty nicelly and is entirelly white with a soft black wash. Her skin is more pale than Dracula´s with black shadows around her eyes and black lipstick and her har have a very good looking mix of black and dark brown.
The Mummy have a really serious look on his face and seems very concentrated on watching the movie while eating a bag of chicken nuggets. Sculpt wise he is the most simple of the collection tough the details on his aged face are very good, specially on his mouth. The bandaged body have a light brown mixed with ablack wash while the ehad have a much darker brown and the hair part looks more orange. Details like the golden pupils and the beetle ring make it very evident the people in Pop Mart actually did watched the movie since all this details are on it. The chicken nuggets big is the most colorful part of the figure.
One of my two favorites one is deffinetly the Wolfman. He have also an extremelly cartoony design with a big mouth with fangs protunding from hislower lip, the small dog nose and the eyes mixed with an expression os sadness and anger and the way he is sitting not like a person, but as a dog, with his feet on the chair and the fingers on his paws holding of it makes this one extremelly adorable. He is eating a bag of chips and i really love his hair sculpt and the beard, and the green shirt that looks like marble with the dark wash. I really love this guy soo much.
My other favorite one is the Creature From the Black Lagoon. He is sitting with an unexpressive face expression eating tiny fish from a can. The scult is amazing with the little tiny scales covering his body as well as the different plaques and fins around his head. The dark green of his skin si perfect as well as the yellow around his mouth and fins but the best part is the dark wash that make each scale stand out, specially on his head. I am not sure if its a mix of sculpt or is just paint, but the texture on his big head looks soo realistic. Also he is cmpletelly wet, covered on a film that makes him looks shiny and slimy and on his feet theres a small pong of transluscent blue water. This little guy is soo amazing.
Good thing they didnt forget The Phantom of the Opera. Bad thing is this isnt the original version but based on the ugly color remake from the 40s soo this isnt Lon Chaney but Claude Rains Phantom. He is sitting with one hand hilding his chest about to have a heart attack while the other holds a rose, with an expression full of anguish. This is the most simplictic looking character with a white gothic looking shirt and grey pant and a well groomed hair. The green and red of the rose really ar ethe tocuh of color this guy need since he looks like he belongs to a romance novel.
The rose can be removed and is rpetty difficult to put it on his hand given how small it is and the mask can be removed. The mask have a very nice "bone" like texture and paint and holds into his face perfectly thanks to his nice and the strand of hair. Once removed it reveals a burn on his eye. The paint work of pruples and reds on the burn looks really good but i seen much worse people on the streets of my city than this, this guys is simple way too mild to belong here.
Next one is the Invisible Man. I am not a big fan of this guy but he deffinetly looks more better and interesting than The Phantom. Rivaling in elegance with Dracula, this guy is watching a movie on his pijama, sleeping rob and slippers while sporting his cool looking dark glases and a hat. He is all bandaged but since he is drinking a soda, the bandages on his mouth are missing and since he is invisible, well....his ehad is completelly empty. His hat have a very nice mix of black and dark red while his rob and pijamas are brigth orange and blue and the soda cup is neon orange. This is one of the mst colorfull of the bunch and he also have his diary with his formula under his hand (tough the tiny book likes to be lost pretty easy).
Lastly the character i really dont like at all: Van Helsing. Yes....that Van Helsing, the Hugh Jackman one. I mean, not only he is NOT a monster, but this particular version of the character dosnt beling to the same time period as the rest and looks incrediblly out of place. I really wish they added Quasimodo or even the Metaluna Mutant instead f this guy but oh well...he is rpetty ooking as the rest, with his blue eyes, angry expression and curly hair. His coat is nucellt detailed as well ad his military boots and he is holding a beer on his hand and a crossbow on the other that both can be removed.
The chairs have a very clasic look with a brown structure and a red velvet inside painted with some dark wash to give it shadow (despite this section being completelly hidden by the figures) and looks like belonging from an opera teather and while in the front they are all the same, each one have the name of the movie each monster belongs as well as the date of release: DRACULA - february 12.1932, FRANKENSTEIN - NOVEMBER 21.1931, THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN - april 22.1935, THE MUMMY - december 22.1932, THE WOLFMAN - december 12.1941, THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON - february 12.1954, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA - august 27.1943, THE INVISIBLE MAN - november 13.1933 and VAN HELSING - may 6.2004.
The dates on the chairs are such a wonderfull detail tough this guys can sit on the table, the laptop, the console, every place with no need of the chairs, is pretty evident this is a cinema teather scene and they looks wonderfull all together, perfect for halloween or to pose them in front of the TV, this are soo full of details and soo alive is always fun to look at them. This is the kind of toys that awaken on me the love for toys i felt when i was a kid.
There is an extra character tough but he is rpetty rare, one on every 108 boxes and he is Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde but i guess ask for him i way too much at this point i am perfectly fine with this group of monsters (except for Van Helsing, i probablly turn him back into his box) and really mpress me how in sculpt and paint they are at the same level as a Nendroid.
